CNET Editors' Rating

The GoodThe Linksys E3200 High Performance Dual-Band N Router offers excellent performance and advanced networking features in a stylish and compact design. It has a good Web interface and also includes Cisco Connect, an intuitive desktop software utility with which even a novice user can set up and manage a home wireless network with ease.

The BadThe Linksys E3200 doesn't support the new three-stream 450Mbps Wireless-N standard. The Cisco Connect utility doesn't provide access to all the router's features, doesn't work in sync with the Web interface, and requires a live Internet connection to finish the initial setup.

The Bottom LineThe Linksys E3200 is an excellent high-performance Wireless-N router for both novice and experienced users.

The Linksys E3200 is the next in line after the top-notch Linksys E4200 in Cisco Systems' new and refreshed E series of Wireless-N routers. Inferior to the E4200 only in its lack of support for the three-stream (3x3) 450Mbps standard, the E3200 is designated to replace the previous Linksys E3000, and it indeed makes a worthy upgrade.

Like all routers in the new E series, the E3200 is both pretty to look at and easy to use thanks to the included Cisco Connect software. While novice users will love the software's no-brainer approach to network setup and management, experienced users may want to skip it entirely and use the responsive Web interface to take advantage of the router's advanced features.

In real-world testing the E3200 proved itself to be among the fastest true dual-band Wireless-N routers. We found it also offered long-range and stable wireless signals. At its street price of around $140, the E3200 makes a formidable contender to the recent Editors' Choice-winning Asus RT-56U.

Design and ease of use
The Linksys E3200 shares the eye-catching styling of the rest of Cisco's new Linksys E series, such as the E1500 or the E4200. Although it's not wall-mountable, the router has a flat design with an internal antenna and is about the same size as the compact E1500.

Like all today's high-end routers, the E3200 comes with four Gigabit LAN ports and one Gigabit WAN port on the back. The former are for wired clients like desktop computers, and the latter is to connect to an Internet source, such as a broadband router. Also on the back you'll find the push button for the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) feature and a USB 2.0 port to host an USB external storage device. We wish that the WPS button were on the side or front of the router for easier access. The USB port will not work with a printer, unfortunately.

On the front, the new E3200 doesn't have the usual array of status LEDs. Instead, like the rest of the E series, it has just one white light in the shape of Cisco's logo that blinks when the router's booting up (or when something is not right) and stays solid when everything is in order.

The router doesn't come with a manual, just a CD with the Cisco Connect software. As long as you know how to insert this CD in a computer's optical drive, you'll be able to set up the router. Cisco Connect will walk you through the setup processes, including how to hook the router up to a cable modem and the computer that you use for the setup process. After that, it will run by itself to configure the Internet connection and then prompt you to accept or change the default wireless network's name and encryption key.

By default, the software sets up two wireless networks (one for the 2.4GHz band and one for the 5GHz band) with the same name or SSID; it's always something easy to remember, such as BigHorse or BlueMonkey. Once this initial setup is done, you can add other computers to the wireless network via Cisco Connect with just a few mouse clicks. With devices that don't have an optical drive, like a smartphone or a printer, the software lets you print out the settings so you can add them manually, or you can use WPS if the clients support it.

While having two networks share one name, which is similar to how Apple sets up its AirPort Extreme, makes life simple for many people, it means that you have to rely on the adapter to select the network. If you'd prefer to manually pick which network to use, you can give the networks different names via the Web interface.

With Cisco Connect you can also turn on and off the Guest network (available only in the 2.4GHz band), manage the Parental Control features, and run the included Speed Test tool to see how fast your Internet connection is. As is typical for the E series, however, the software's functions are very limited, and it requires a live Internet connection to work. In order to set up the router for an isolated network that's not connected to the Internet, name the two wireless networks differently, or take advantage of other functions such as the router's network storage feature, you'll need to log in to the router's Web interface. You can get there by following the "advanced setup" link within Cisco Connect or by pointing a connected computer's browser to the router's default IP address, which is 192.168.1.1.

Note that if you haven't used Cisco Connect at all, the default password to log in to the router's Web interface is "admin," with the username being left blank. Once you have changed the default password, the username becomes "admin." If you did use Cisco Connect to set up the router, the username will be "admin" with the password being the same as the encryption key of the wireless networks.

The good news is, unlike for the original Linksys E series, everything you can do with Cisco Connect can also be done through the E3200's Web interface. For this reason, savvy users can and should skip Cisco Connect entirely to avoid accidentally changing the router's settings.

The good news is, the E3200's Web interface allows you to do everything you can with the Cisco Connect software, plus it enables access to the rest of the router's advanced features. (For routers in the original E series, such as the E3000, neither the software nor the Web interface has complete control over the router's features and settings, and they can't be used together.) For better control over the router, savvy owners of the E3200 can and should skip Cisco Connect entirely.

In the end, it's best to use the Cisco Connect software if you are a novice user, and the Web interface if you are more experienced. If you want to switch back to using Cisco Connect, just return the router to its default setting via the recessed reset button on its bottom.

Features
Other than the lack of support for the 450Mbps standard, the Linksys E3200 has the same features as the Linksys E4200. The router is able to offer concurrent networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and can also simultaneously provide a third guest network on the 2.4GHz band.

Guest networking is a great solution when you want to share your Internet connection with others but want to keep them from accessing your local resources such as files or printers. The E3200's Guest networking feature allows a maximum of 10 clients. While this is enough for home use, it may be too limited to supply Internet for public use, as at a cafe or restaurant.

CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
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